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Dr. VIKRAM SARABHAI: FATHER of INDIA’S SPACE PROGRAM

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Dr. VIKRAM SARABHAI: FATHER of INDIA’S SPACE PROGRAM Physics News Dr. VIKRAM SARABHAI: FATHER OF INDIA’S SPACE PROGRAM Dr. Padmanabh K. Joshi Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Archives Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Padmanabh Joshi, obtained his Ph.D. on the topic “Dr. Vikram Sarabhai: A Study on Innovative Leadership and Institution-building” from – IIM, Ahmedabad. He organised Archives of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai at Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad and was Scientist In-charge: Vikram Sarabhai Space Exhibition Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad. Wrote three books on Dr. Sarabhai – Vikram Sarabhai: The man the vision. He recently published a book Vikram Sarabhai: India’s Space pioneer. He has delivered a number of popular Radio and TV talks. Abstract An attempt has been made to study the beginning of India’s Space Program and the role of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai as the founder with a special reference of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. Childhood and Education old. For his scientific research and experimental work, he visited the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Poona, It is well-known that Vikram Sarabhai along with his two where he met Professor K. R. Ramanathan, Director of Poona brothers and five sisters had their primary education in the Observatory. During this period, he had started planning a private school started on Montessori education system at their research laboratory for studies of Cosmic Rays and house The Retreat. When the teacher felt that a child was ready Atmospheric Physics at Ahmedabad. He discussed his plan for the matriculation examination, he or she appeared in the with Dr. Ramanathan and also requested him to join the exam as an external student of the R. C. High school, proposed new research laboratory, as Director. Dr. Ahmedabad. In 1935, after completion of Matriculation Ramanathan agreed to his invitation and promised him that examination, Vikram Sarabhai joined the Gujarat College for after his retirement from the IMD in 1948, he would join. The further study. In the year 1937, he completed his intermediate PRL was started in 1945 by Sarabhai with the help of the examination from Gujarat College (Bombay University). Karmakshetra Educational Foundation (K.E.F.) started by his Then he went to Cambridge for higher studies and joined St. parents. The K.E.F. itself was established for starting, carrying John’s College, U.K. He was awarded his B. A. degree in on, and helping to carry on advanced scientific research and Physics and Mathematics, his Tripos, in 1939. The second educational activities of all types. When the war ended in world war started in the same year and he had to return to 1945, Vikram Sarabhai with his newly married wife Smt. India, where he joined the Indian Institute of Sciences, Mrinalini Swaminadhan went to Cambridge to complete his Bangalore and continued his post-graduate study under the Ph. D. in Cosmic Rays. There Vikram Sarabhai continued his Nobel Laureate, Professor C. V. Raman. Professor Raman research work on photo fission at the Cavendish Laboratory. suggested Vikram Sarabhai to do his post-graduate and In 1947 at the age of 28, he was awarded Ph. D. degree of the doctoral research in Cosmic Rays. Vikram Sarabhai, thus Cambridge University for his thesis on “COSMIC RAYS decided to do his post-graduate and later doctoral research in INVESTIGATIONS EXPERIMENTS WITH GAMMA Cosmic Rays which led him to studies of interplanetary space, RAYS” and he returned to India in 1947 cosmic terrestrial relationships and geomagnetism. His first scientific research paper on “Time Distribution of Cosmic A Visionary Scientist Rays” was published in Proceedings of Indian Academy of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai had a variety of choices for his career. sciences (A: Vol. 15, p. 89, 1942). Menon (1972) described Dr. Sarabhai’s love for science: While working on his post-graduate research he had to “From his early childhood Vikram was deeply interested in build up the necessary equipment for his experiments which Science. And for him, Science was not to be just a part of a he did in Bangalore, Poona and Apharwat in the Himalaya liberal education, to fit him for a career in business, industry region. During a visit to his mountain station in Gulmarg, near or administration. His interest in science was deep and abiding Alpathari lake, in 1943 to carry out high-altitude experiments, and he meant to be the central theme of his life and career.” he conceived the idea of a dedicated laboratory for cosmic rays and atmospheric physics, even though he was only 23 years Thus, he chose to remain as a scientist committed to scientific 4 Physics News research and while building his career as a scientist, he showed Development of the second-generation young scientists his multifaceted personality as a physicist, a space scientist, a through scientific research and training remained the basic programme at the PRL. For Sarabhai training of young technologist, a nuclear scientist, an organizer, a management scientists formed a part of his scientific mission. In spite of his scientist, an educationist, a teacher, an industrialist, an multifarious responsibilities, Sarabhai was always available to institution builder, a planner of decades with a vast range of his students. As Menon (1972, p.40) observed: interests and erudition, an internationalist, a connoisseur of art, a very warm human being and a true lover of nature “who "Vikram Sarabhai worked in the field of cosmic ray variations, could see birds and squirrels in creative work”. and set up a group which was undoubtedly the best in this field and which achieved recognition in international science." In 1947, after his return from Cambridge, he started converting his dream into reality. He started the Physical On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. He had already in the first artificial satellite Sputnik into space and the world Retreat a laboratory for Cosmic Rays with a skeleton staff entered the Space Age. The I. G. Y. (International including a Scientific Assistant knowing electronics, a glass Geophysical Year) Program had started on July 1, 1957 to blower and an all-round general mechanic. Dr. Sarabhai December 31, 1958. Dr. Sarabhai had begun to contemplate discussed with Kasturbhai Lalbhai, one of the trustees of the the necessity to study solar activity to comprehend the Ahmedabad Education Society about a possible collaboration behavior of cosmic waves affecting earth’s atmosphere; between K.E.F. and the Ahmedabad Education Society however, there was no “space programme” in any institutional (A.E.S.) to establish a Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad for form in India in 1955. Following the IGY, mindful of the the study of Cosmic Rays and Atmospheric Physics. In extensive developments in astronautics and space technology November 1947, both K.E.F. and A.E.S. agreed to start PRL occurring on a global scale, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai proposed the in Ahmedabad and an agreement was signed accordingly. The Government of India to start the India’s Space Programme. objectives of PRL were stated as under: India entered the Space Age "The aim of the Physical Research Laboratory is to serve as a STUDY AND RESEARCH CENTRE FOR PHYSICS IN In 1962, the Government of India set up the Indian National WESTERN INDIA and help to raise the standard of POST Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) under the GRADUATE EDUCATION IN EXPERIMENTAL AND Department of Atomic Energy. Vikram Sarabhai was THEORETICAL PHYSICS". appointed as Chairman. Sarabhai was also entrusted with the administrative responsibilities of INCOSPAR. And the PRL The initial research programme of the Laboratory was oriented became the HQ of the INCOSPAR. by the scientific interests of its principal workers. Professor Ramanathan was interested in the problems of temperatures, As Director, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Dr winds and moisture in the upper atmosphere, atmospheric Sarabhai convened an army of able and brilliant scientists, ozone, ionospheric physics, geomagnetism and solar- engineers, communicators and social scientists from all terrestrial relationships. Professor Sarabhai was interested in corners of the country to spearhead the Indian space understanding the causes of the time variation of cosmic rays programme. Dr. Sarabhai was not interested merely in the and the light they could throw on the source of cosmic rays. glamourous aspect of space. As Mc Cracken (1979, p.11) described: "In 1961 he (Dr. Sarabhai) began speaking of the The story of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s career as a scientist and Indian view of space research; a view that was clearly different the growth and development of the Physical Research from that of the developed countries which were active in Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, are very much interwoven. space at that time. He spoke of using satellites to provide Immediately after starting of the PRL in 1947, Sarabhai began television for the half million villages of India; TV in which an extensive, research in cosmic rays time variations. Pandya there would be a single video channel, and 14 different sound (1972, p.8) described: "Dr. Sarabhai was never content with channels to bridge the linguistic gaps that divide the Indian merely reporting the observations, but he always looked into nation. He spoke of agricultural; family planning and health the implications of the experimental data leading to an education being given to the non-urban population by understanding of the nature of the interplanetary space. Thus, satellites. He argued that it would be faster to use a satellite to his efforts to provide a theoretical understanding of the origin provide a high quality, nationwide telephone system than to of the Semidiurnal component of the cosmic rays led to use a conventional ground-based microwave system. That is, postulating and estimating gradients of cosmic ray intensity he spoke of a careful tailoring of Space Science to the national perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic long before this may goals of his country.
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